Nail clipper



D. P. KILLEN 2,887,773

NAIL CLIPPER Original Filed June 6, 1957 May 26, 1959 7 ......mm||mnunmlllllllllllllw Y v v 5 2- ,DONflLD 1 JY/LLE/v United States Patent NAIL CLIPPER Donald P. Killen, Long Beach, Calif.

3 Claims. (Cl. 30-28) The present invention relates to an improved nail clipper, and more particularly to a nail clipper arranged to store the nail segments as they are cut off, so that an accumulation thereof may be emptied at a subsequent time. I

This application is a division of my co-pending application Serial No. 663,989 filed June 6, 1957 for a Nail Clipper, now U.S. Patent No. 2,829,433 issued April 8, 1958.

The pocket type of nail clipper has been known and used for many years and has been most widely used in a preferred form having a retractable operating lever. The clipper has two blades having cutting edges on one end thereof, and whose other ends are firmly fastened together. The cutting edges are normally held apart due to spring action of the blades but may be brought into mesh by operating the lever. The lever may be placed in an inoperative position lying along the top blade and providing a very compact arrangement of the clipper, or it may be manipulated to its operating position in which one end thereof projects upwardly and may be depressed for causing the cutting edges to mesh.

While the conventional pocket type nail clipper as described above has received almost universal acceptance, it nevertheless has certain limitations. A very important limitation is that when the clipper is used in its intended manner the nail segments fly in every direction as they are cut olf. The resulting embarrassment and inconvenience often assumes serious proportions.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an improved nail clipper including means for storing the nail segments as they are cut.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved nail clipper including means for storing nail segments as they are cut and for emptying an accumulation thereof at a subsequent time.

In accordance with the present invention the above and other objects are achieved by providing a removable carrying case for the clipper which, together with the cutting blades of the clipper, forms an enclosed substantially rectangular structure in which nail segments may be received as they are cut.

The above and other objects of the invention will be more readily apparent in view of the following description and the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure l is a plan view of a preferred embodiment of my improved nail clipper;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the nail clipper of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an exploded view of the invention showing the nail clipper removed from my novel carrying case; and

Figure 4 is a transverse vertical cross-sectional view of the improved clipper taken on the line 4--4 of Fig. 2 and illustrating the compartment for receiving clippings.

Referring now to the drawing, the conventional nail clipper includes an upper blade and a lower blade 12 arranged substantially parallel to each other and each 2,887,773 Patented May 26, 1959 having a tapered end through which a rivet 16 passes for fastening the two blades firmly together. At their opposite ends the blades have inwardly extending cutting edges disposed transversely thereto, upper blade 10 having a cutting edge 11 and lower blade 12 having a cutting edge 13. In close proximity to the cutting edges both blades are perforated to receive a rivet pin 30 having a bottom cap 31 in contact with the lower surface of lower blade 12 and an upper end 32 extending above the upper surface of upper blade 10. Rivet pin 30 has a transverse slot 33 therein for pivotally supporting an operating lever '35 which rests on the upper surface of upper blade 10. Operating lever 35 has a tapered end 36 upon which pressure may be exerted for flexing the blades to bring the cutting edges thereof into cutting engagement.

The invention comprises a flexible carrying case which may be easily slipped onto, or'removed from, a conventional nail clipper of the type previously described. The flexible caseincludes a bottom panel 50, an upper side panel 51 (as viewed'in Figures 1, 3), a lower side panel 52, an upper flange 53 and a lower flange 54. Bottom panel 50 together with the side panels 51 and 52 provides a substantially U-shaped trough having suitable width and depth for enclosing the nail clipper, in slidable contact with the exposed outer surfaces thereof. The trough has an open end 58 through which the cutting edges of the clipper remain accessible, and a tapered and closed end 59 for fitting snugly around the tapered ends of blades 10 and 12 adjacent rivet 16. Flanges 53 and 54 are substantially parallel to bottom panel 50 and extend inwardly from the respective upper longitudinal edges of their associated side panels. Flanges 53 and 54 do not extend inwardly a suflicient distance to meet each other but are symmetrically arranged to provide a slot 55 extending therebetween substantially the entire length of the flexible case. Thus slot 55 has at the forward end of the case a very wide portion 55a to permit ample working space for operating lever 35; throughout the tapered part of the case a narrow portion 55b to insure that the case is firmly retained on the nail clipper; and at the tapered end of the case an enlargement 55c for fitting around the exposed upper end of rivet 16. When the case is slipped over the nail clipper it fits snugly and is retained in position by enlargement 550 which snaps around rivets 16. When it is desired to empty accumulated nail clippings, the case may be temporarily removed from the clipper for this purpose.

The flexible case may, for example, be made of plastic.

Although my invention is fully capable of achieving the results and providing the advantages hereinbefore mentioned, it is to be understood that it is merely the presently preferred embodiment thereof, and that I do not mean to be limited to the details of construction above described other than as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination with a nail clipper of the class including a stationary cutting plate, a resilient movable cutting plate, each of said cutting plates being elongated and having an inwardly disposed transverse cutting edge at one of the ends thereof, means holding the other ends of said cutting plates in tight engagement, and an upwardly projecting lever selectively operable for flexing said movable cutting plate to bring said cutting edges into cutting engagement, a carrying case comprising a pair of elongated side plates arranged parallel to each other and spaced apart by at least the width of said cutting plates, a bottom plate interconnecting the lower longitudinal edges of said side plates to form substantially an elongated .nail clipper within said carrying case in a cutting position, and manually operable means for selectively removing said nail clipper from said carrying case and for emptying accumulated nail clippings therefrom.

2. In combination with a nail clipper of the class including a pair of substantially flat metal blade members aligned in a substantially parallel arrangement, a rivet fastening said blade members together at one end, a rivet pin interconnecting said blade members adjacent their other ends, said blade members having at their other ends inwardly extending sharp transverse flanges, and a lever associated with said rivet pin and selectively operable for flexing said blade members to cause engagement of said flanges: an integrally formed carrying case in which said nail clipper may be removably enclosed, said carrying case including a pair of side plates integrally formed therewith as a portion thereof, said side plates being normally disposed substantially parallel to one another and cooperating with said blade members to define a confined space into which nail clippings are received, said carrying case being removable from said nail clipper for moving said side plates away from engagement with said blade members in order to permit the emptying of an accumulation of nail clippings.

3. In combination with a nail clipper of the class including a pair of substantially fiat metal blade members aligned in a substantially parallel arrangement, means fastening asid blade members together at one end, said blade members having at their other ends inwardly extending sharp transverse flanges, and selectively operable means for flexing said blade members to cause engagement of said flanges: an integrally formed carrying case in which said nail clipper may be removably enclosed, said carrying case including a pair of side plates integrally formed therewith as a portion thereof, said side plates being normally disposed substantially parallel to one another and cooperating with said blade members to define a confined space into which nail clippings are received, said carrying case being removable from said nail clipper for moving said side plates away from engagement with said blade members in order to permit the emptying of an accumulation of nail clippings.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,799,923 Senshu July 23, 

